Noisy Deadlines

“I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.” – Douglas Adams

I have been decluttering my life for some years now. In terms of material possessions I have reached a point where I consider I have enough. I have the essential now. I have a capsule wardrobe that works for me. I don't own physical books or CD's anymore. I prefer not having decorations on the walls of my home.

Right now I am focusing on the less corporeal items of my life. I've been critically evaluating my online activity for quite a while now.

After I read the book Deep Work by Cal Newport  in 2016,  a light bulb turned on inside my head that made me think: Am I too distracted? Are we too distracted?

And the answer is “Yes, we are distracted!”. The combination of cellphones and social media has dramatically changed my behavior towards technology and that is scary! I love technology, don't get me wrong. I grew up in the non-digital world and I remember when I connected to the Internet for the first time. The Internet was a marvelous unexplored space with enormous possibilities. It meant freedom! Democratic access to information! Connection!

And now I feel entrapped when I am online. I feel like I don't have control. I feel like I am inside a weird experiment where my choices are not my own. I feel like a victim. So I decided to take some action!

The Process

My decluttering process was like this:

  1. Make a list of all the social media account that I have.
  2. Log into the accounts and check the status: Have I been using it? Do I like it? What do I use it for?
  3. Make a plan for each one of them, listing their purpose and what I want to do with them.
  4. Delete the accounts I no longer use or update.
  5. Reevaluate the accounts that I still use: can I unfollow/unfriend people/profiles? Delete/minimize the amount of information feeding my timeline.
  6. Repeat step 5 regularly (I did every 2 months from 2016 to 2018).
Read more...

Hello!! It was a little quiet around here and I'll explain why.

Around 6 months me and my husband left our home country to start a new life in Canada (the picture is a hint of exactly Where in Canada). And I can tell you that these first 6 months were intense!

Moving to a foreign country is a marvelous experience. During the first months I felt like I was reborn because I was learning new things 24 hours a day. In a sense I felt like a child again!

Everything was new:

  • looking for a place to live;
  • understanding how rental contracts work;
  • buying furniture, learning to use the public transit;
  • looking for a job;
  • figuring out groceries and everyday products;
  • getting a driver's license;
  • filing tax returns;
  • getting used to the local slang;
  • experiencing the Canadian winter for the first time;
  • finding out which type of winter boots are right for you;
  • learning how to skate....

......and many, many more things. It has been quite a ride!

So now that the most urgent life essentials are dealt with, I got a job and my routine is running smoothly, I will get back to writing here.

I survived winter (and loved it!), I saw the Tulips Festival I don't own a TV for the first time in my life and I feel rejuvenated.

I continued to read a lot during these months and I've been rethinking my social media usage.

Social Internet

So, I want to recommend 2 articles by Cal Newport:

They really got me thinking about my relationship with Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. What is connection? Is having followers a useful type of connection? Why we feel the need to post photos of our food to strangers? What is happening? Who owns my data after it is published? Aren't we just being used?

Cal Newport makes a distinction between “social internet” and “social media”. The first is about meaningful connections and learning, the second is about companies monetizing these interactions. And Newport gives some ideas on how to embrace the social internet. He is in advocate of everybody having their own website:

“In other words, acquire your own damn digital land on which you can do whatever you want without anyone else trying to exploit you or influence your behavior.” — by Cal Newport

That is an interesting approach because social media is now a huge business in which our attention is being used for monetization. That is scary! And how come clicking a “like” button or blindly sharing headlines have become a social expression?

Anyway, these were all reflections I had during these months amidst living new experiences and having the best time of my life doing so. I will write more about these topics.

Spring is here (if you are in the northern hemisphere) so let's be mindful of our time and escape from being negatively influenced by social media.

Note: Cal Newport is writing a book on “digital minimalism” and I am really looking forward to it!

#socialmedia #attentionresistance

Thoughts? Discuss... if you have a Write.as account or Reply by email

By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

Book: Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less By Greg McKeown

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less By Greg McKeown

  • Kindle Edition, 274 pages
  • Publication Date: April 15, 2014
  • Read from October 30 to 31, 2015

This book was a fast read for me. The good thing is that it made me feel less anxious and less stressed. It reminded me that I have the power to choose what I want to do with my time and my life. And that I don't need to let others dictate/influence my schedule and my to-do list. Because as Greg McKeown advises us in the book:

“Remember that if you don’t prioritize your life someone else will.” ― Greg McKeown, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less

It has taught me that the most important question to ask is: “What is really essential to me?”. The rest can simply be thrown away. But that's no simple task because we usually hang on to a pletora of things without knowing which of them are truly essential. He has a nice definition o the term Essentialism:

“Essentialism is not about how to get more things done; it’s about how to get the right things done. It doesn’t mean just doing less for the sake of less either. It is about making the wisest possible investment of your time and energy in order to operate at our highest point of contribution by doing only what is essential.”
― Greg McKeown, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less

Read more...

I am going through a big change right now!

I will be moving abroad next month (in 23 days to be exact) and I’ve been evaluating my possessions and minimizing since 2015. By then, I just wanted to live more intentionally and get rid of excess stuff. I wanted to travel light, with only a carry-on. I wanted to have a capsule wardrobe so that I needn’t waste time deciding what to wear in the morning.

These are all normal things everybody desires when they discover intentional living or minimalism.

I’ve read more than a dozen books about this topic since 2015.

I've read countless blog posts and articles about living with less, wasting less and choosing to own only the essential.

I started meditating in the mornings.

I started practicing yoga.

I've sold almost all my physical books, I've sold all my CD's, I donated clothes, shoes, towels, magazines, pens, notebooks.

I've scanned all the print photos I still had with me and recycled them. It was a huge pile!

I did the Minimalism Game for two consecutive months and got rid of 902 items in 59 days (February and March, 2017).

#MinsGame 2017

And I wondered if that was enough. Deep inside I felt that I wasn’t touching the surface of being really intentional. I felt all the benefits though. I am a much happier person. I have less anxiety, less stress. I remember to breath deeply in the middle of the day. I can focus.

Now, due to our future big move overseas, I started to sell and donate things that I thought were essential to me. As I am getting rid of furniture, electronics and even domestic appliances I am realizing that these things are not so essential after all.

This month I am selling big things. An office cabinet. A drawer cabinet. A sofa-bed that was “just in case we had visitors”. A kitchen mixer. A blender. A high quality office chair. All these items were in my daily routine (except the sofa-bed, which was really a “Just In Case”). They were essential to me! But after not having them at my disposal, I noticed I can live without them. It's not that bad!

Read more...

My first Inbox Zero (2017)

For the first time in years I have a true inbox Zero on GMail. I’ve been reorganizing my GTD (Getting Things Done) system and decided I should attack my email habits. I used to keep some important or waiting-for messages using the priority boxes of Gmail. And they were always visible.

Today I set up two new labels to use them as an action list and clear the clutter:

  • @To-answer calmly: For e-mails I have to answer that will take longer than 5 minutes.
  • @Waiting-reply: For those messages I am waiting for a reply so I can track them later.

All the rest gets deleted, clipped to Evernote (if it is something that will require starting a project or some action outside Gmail) or archived under one of my reference labels on Gmail. I sometimes clip to Evernote messages that I want to keep as References and that can be linked to any of my ongoing projects (support for projects).

I was inspired by the GTD Evernote for Windows setup guide by David Allen Company, 2017 edition. The guide gives two options:

  1. Use the e-mail as the reminder: This is my choice, meaning that the e-mail is also an action bucket that has to be checked regularly and acted upon.
  2. Use next action notebooks in Evernote or the calendar as the action reminder: This option only keeps the e-mail as a reference folder, and all the required action are registered into your next action folders.

And I even changed my Gmail theme to celebrate! I’ve always used the classic theme with no images. Now I have a reason to keep my inbox zero: I want to see the beautiful landscape with nothing over it!

Immediate outcomes:

  • I no longer re-process and think over the same e-mail message more than once. When I had read messages lying around in my inbox I used to open them again to see what they were about and got a bit lost inside the mess.
  • I no longer let e-mails pile up. I keep it clean and tidy!
  • I check my Inbox less. I am not a person that works all the time with e-mail, so I can have the luxury to check my e-mail only a few times a day. Before this change, I compulsively checked my Inbox waiting for some news, kinda like what we do scrolling down social media. This compulsive behavior disappeared!

So, I encourage everyone to test some kind of Inbox Zero strategy to see it if works for you! I’ve never truly implemented it because I thought I didn’t need it!

#GTD #productivity

Thoughts? Discuss... if you have a Write.as account or Reply by email

By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

“Dragonfly in Amber” (Outlander #2) by Diana Gabaldon

Kindle Edition, Reprint Edition, 754 pages Published October 26th 2004 by Dell (first published July 1st 1992)

I read the first book of this series (Outlander) in 2013 and I remember that at the time I have enjoyed many aspects of the story but I’ve thought that the book was longer than it needed to be. I had the intention to continue on reading the series but I eventually forgot about it. And maybe knowing that it was a long series (today there are 7 books published!) made me postpone reading it until I had more time.

This year I was leisurely browsing Netflix and I saw the Outlander TV show available! Well, I decided to watch it! At the same time, I started reading the second book because watching the series Season One made me want to go back to that world. And that made be dive into this epic story story once more! Each book is like a chapter in the larger story, so it’s the kind of series you have to read the books in the order they were published.

Overall of the book series

Before I talk about the second book, I will say that Diana Gabaldon is a superb writer. The books are well-written with generally well-researched historical background.

She has a way of telling a story in the most compelling of ways with complex characters and solid world building.

The Outlander series is a mix of time-travel/historic romance and it starts with the story of Claire Randall, a former combat nurse that lives in 1945 and was transported back in time to Scotland in 1743, in the middle of clan wars and borders conflict between scots and englishmen. Claire encounters a young Scots warrior named James Fraser and they experience an epic romance story together.

The second book : “Dragonfly in Amber”

It is a follow-up of the first book, but it starts with Claire Randall in the “present” going back to Scotland and starting a research about the Battle of Culloden and aftermath of the war. From the first book we have an idea that the main characters were somehow involved with the historic battle of Culloden that took place in 1746. This battle marks the final confrontation of the Jacobite rising of 1745, in which the Jacobites, with the support of France, fought to reestablish Charles Edward Stuart, known as “Bonnie Prince Charlie” in the throne of Scotland. We all know from historical facts that the battle of Culloden ends the rebellious rising and the clan system in the Highlands of Scotland.

So, in this book, we are transported back to 1745, with Claire and Jamie fleeing from Scotland to find refuge in France. Meanwhile, the story brings us flashes of the present, with Claire telling her adventures to her daughter for the first and revealing her secrets.

I was amazed by the quality of the storytelling because of its freshness and pace. I love the writing style of Diana Gabaldon: she can be “flourishy” without being boring. The reading flows effortlessly.

The time travel aspect of this series can at first seems too absurd and I was worried that it could spoil the story. You know, it is complicated to avoid time travel paradoxes. And sometimes when you explain it too much, the story can loose its power. So far in this series I have not seen it being spoiled. I think the author did a good job of playing with historical facts and avoiding paradoxes. So far, so good!

The book is quite a ride, with politics, war, romance, personal struggle and historic facts being beautifully intertwined with fictional characters. I am totally hooked to the series now, and I have already started reading Book 3 “Voyager” (and enjoying it so far!).

I highly recommend the series for historical romance lovers who fancy a bit of time travel vibes!

#books #bookreview #reading

Thoughts? Discuss... if you have a Write.as account or Reply by email

By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

In February, 2017 I decided to play the Minimalism Game. I wanted to use it as a tool to declutter some of my stuff. I had a loose plan of the categories of things I wanted to address. So, I gave it a go!

The first month was a success, as you can check out here, here and here. Month #2: The first 9 days of decluttering

The sweet thing about the game is that it gives us momentum. It breaks the inertial state. And it provides a sense of progression. You start slow, with one item, and you comfortably go adding one more item to the previous amount until you reach day 15. Then things start to get more challenging. But you’ve prepared for it, you’ve been training and so you put your fears aside and continue on the quest for more items to let go.

When I finished the first month, which were 28 days, I looked at my stuff and saw that there were more items to purge. I was not done with my plan. It was natural for me to go for a second round.

The second month of purging: March, 2017

Month #2: Business cards, clothes, shoes, kitchen utensils and the first CD’s

My plan was to declutter the following categories of stuff:

  • CD’s — data/backups;
  • Clothes;
  • Shoes;
  • Old Printed Photos (needed scanning);
  • Kitchen utensils;
  • Certificates;
  • Business cards;
  • Old Medical Exams.
Read more...

“There are 168 hours in a week. This is your guide to getting the most out of them.” by Laura Vanderkam

Book Cover: 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think by Laura Vanderkam

  • Kindle Edition
  • Print Length: 271 pages
  • Publisher: Portfolio (May 26, 2010)
  • Publication Date: May 27, 2010

My overall thoughts about the book:

I enjoyed the main approach of the book, which is to be aware of how we spend our 168 hours and identify how we can make better use of the time available for all of us. So far so good, but I found that the author addresses only a handful of life styles, specially couples with kids.

I didn’t agree with all the suggestions she gave. There was too much “delegating” to paid services tips and I am more into searching for a frugal or simple lifestyle. As far as I know hiring household services is usually more expensive than doing them ourselves, but the author affirms that this model could work for some people (if they have the money to afford it, of course).

I think it’s hard to try carve out more time out of our days if we don’t reduce the excess activities and stuff we accumulate over time. And I don’t remember the author addressing this side of the coin.

The Pros:

The main messages of the book that stuck in my brain and that I somewhat agree with were:

  1. Cut down TV time. And then cut some more. TV is not so relaxing as we might think.
  2. Block out time to exercise. Then fine more exercise more.
  3. Make a list of tasks you can do in 30 minutes. And another for 10 minutes. Remember these little things that can be done between tasks or while waiting something. For example: read a book in a waiting line, or do some push-ups or stay in plank position while you wait for the microwave. Reading while waiting or in public transport is totally okay, I do this all the time with my Kindle. Doing push-ups while the microwave: not so much because there are usually other things to take care of in the kitchen, in my case. But I think it’s doable.
  4. Identify our core competencies: that is a good exercise because we often forget our main goals amidst the various activities and responsibilities we are involved. When we know what are our core competencies we can plan out more time to develop these areas.

The Cons:

The following tips didn’t really resonate with my personal style:

  1. Carve out chunks of time during our work day to do the things we say we don’t have enough time to do. That’s the kind of tip that won’t work for everyone because not all of us have a flexible schedule or a work environment that encourages “off duty” activities or arriving a bit late.
  2. Hire services: Get someone else to do the things you don’t enjoy by delegating or hiring someone else: laundry, cooking, scheduling appointments. I don’t agree with this one because I truly prefer to live an independent life, and if I can’t find time or satisfaction from taking care of my stuff, I should consider minimizing.
  3. The writing style. I thought the chapters were too long and there were too many anecdotes about other peoples lives filled with excessive and unnecessary details to prove a point. Those parts really put me off the book and made me speed read them. I think the text lacked a bit of objectivity, since it’s about productivity and carving out precious time.

So, the book has a couple of good ideas and tips but the overall experience of reading it wasn’t fulfilling and I was a bit disappointed in the end. Maybe it was not directed at my simpler lifestyle. Sometimes doing less is the best option.

#books #bookreview #reading

Thoughts? Discuss... if you have a Write.as account or Reply by email

By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

This month (February, 2017) I decided to start the Minimalism Game. It’s an idea by The Minimalists (awesome blog!), you can read more about it here. This is the last post about it, from Day 19 to Day 28. You can also read Part 1 and Part 2.

So, my February Minimalism Game is now complete! That means I had a daily task of looking at my possessions and deciding which ones no longer were adding value to my life…

…That means I trashed, donated or recycled 406 items!

The habit of critically analyzing my stuff got easier day by day. I started to wonder why I held on to each particular object and weighted its importance and usefulness to me. The weird thing is that I remember each one of the 406 items. I have memories about them. I know where they came from. Some of them traveled 1,105 kilometers with me when I left my hometown and moved to Brasilia in 2007. But, oh, well, they are just stuff! They have served me once but now they are just stuff.

https://minimalism.life/

Most of the items were paperwork. I have spent some hours of February digitizing stuff too because there were some documents I wanted to keep a digital copy. I finally dealt with a memory box I carried with me since college that contained old postcards and letters (Day 21). I kept the digital images of the important letters to me, the hard copies were recycled. And the box is gone too because it wasn’t useful to me anymore.

#MinsGame: 207 items in 9 days

Read more...

This month (February, 2017) I decided to start the Minimalism Game. It’s an idea by The Minimalists (awesome blog!), you can read more about it here. This is the second post about it, from Day 10 to Day 18. You can read the first part here.

The “Gamification” Effect

This is when the game starts to become challenging. After day 10 the selection of items is not so fast anymore. You see, I didn’t have a box already full of stuff previously collected to donate/trash/sell. Each day I go through my stuff and select which items will go away that day.

And since I didn’t have previously collected items, I started to plan ahead my game every week. I know which areas I can go through the next day and I even separate the next number of stuff so that I can deal with it the next morning. And this “gamification” keeps me working! It’s less likely I will find an excuse and let the decluttering for an undetermined day in the future.

When I reached Day 18, I started to think that I wouldn’t get to the end. But there is always one more pile of paper, some books here and there and CD’s. I discovered a drawer full of CD’s. I knew I had them, but I didn’t remember how many. I used to back up my data on CD’s before having external hard drives. I had old PC games I no longer play. I had CD’s with MP3’s before there were streaming services. I had old electronics! I had installation CD’s and manuals of a computer I no longer own! So many obsolete things!!

So far, I got rid of 176 items :)

Read more...

Enter your email to subscribe to updates.